future is looking sweet.

this is the future of cameras. although i love the old school way of things im ready for the new. im ready to see what the new cameras, tvs, phones, computers and other forms of technology will be. i have always had mixed feelings about keeping things retro looking especially when i spend time with my grandparents. on dry summer afternoons at my grandparents house in syria, i find myself restless while the rest of the country and region are taking their afternoon nap. often i peek my head in my grandparents room where i can hear them tossing and turning. my grandma sleeps lightly and notices me and moments later signals me to come into the room and lie next to her. i lay on my back beside her as we discuss random topics. most recently i find myself asking her questions. questions i know that when their generation passes i will no longer know the answers to. i ask her how life was before. before technology, before materialism, before when life was simple. she begins by telling me how much change she has witnessed in her life. she saw her families members travel abroad and speak of the radio where from one location you could receive instant news from several different countries. or the tv which mysteriously displayed images that told stories and provided entertainment. she goes back in her memory and tells me how she used to live. growing up her family was quite large and life was about the collective. nobody had their own room. own clothes. own anything. we did everything in groups. all the woman of the family cooked together, raised their children as if they were siblings. home belonged to several families and unity was necessary. the most entertaining thing to do was gossip. they were simpler times. times where all you had was your imagination and your friends. now we have computers, cameras, phones and many other distractions that make us ignore what once was. i feel like im growing up in a generation that can no longer be alone or in silence. we use the internet to constantly be entertained. we communicate non stop. life is better slowed down. back to the basics. i wish i lived life the way my grandparents did. hearing her talk of all this gave me a mental picture of how it was. knowing that my grandma took the time out of her day to talk to me. really talk to me about concerns and where she sees my generation headed was incredible. nothing short of how i wish everyday passed. i want more than anything to be able to share this post with her and tell her how much i appreciate her sharing her experiences and memories with me but i know that this is not the way to communicate to her. ill have to wait until summer again, one day when im restless during the hours the rest of the region is asleep and slip into her room to have another life changing conversation with her. nothing is better than knowing how important you are to them. ill forever try to provide hope that not only is our generation evolving but with the proper education about the past and a solid set of morals and ethics we too can have our "old school way" to the generation ahead of us.